Goldfish and Palette by Matisse in the Museum of Modern Art, August 2007

Henri Matisse. (French, 1869-1954). Goldfish and Palette. Paris, quai Saint-Michel, fall 1914. Oil on canvas, 57 3/4 x 44 1/4" (146.5 x 112.4 cm). Gift and bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn and Samuel A. Marx.

Gallery label text
2006

Matisse described the abstract zone at the right of this composition as containing "a person who has a palette in his hand and who is observing." Most likely, it is the artist himself. The surrealist poet André Breton said of the painting, "I believe Matisse's genius is here . . . nowhere has Matisse put so much of himself as in this picture." While the work is indebted to the Cubist collages of Picasso, Matisse was convinced that Picasso was influenced by Goldfish and Palette when creating Harlequin, the following year.

Text from: www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O:AD:...